(MENAFN) A passenger motorboat capsized in the Meghna River near Bangladesh’s Noakhali district on Saturday, claiming one life amid harsh weather and fierce tidal waves, authorities confirmed.
Out of 39 onboard, rescuers have saved 33 individuals so far, while five remain unaccounted for.

Ajmal Huda, the Hatia Police Station chief, informed a news outlet that the vessel was en route from Bhasan Char island to Janata Ghat when it overturned in the river—one of the major waterways flowing from the Ganges Delta.

Immediately following the disaster, local police forces and fishermen responded swiftly, pulling 33 survivors from the water and recovering the body of a man whose identity is still unknown. Among the missing are five people, including one police officer and one member of the Ansar paramilitary force. Those rescued were promptly transported to nearby medical facilities for treatment.

Despite the continuing stormy conditions, rescue efforts persist, according to Huda.

A local broadcaster reported the boat carried a diverse group: 22 regular passengers, six Rohingya refugees, three police personnel, four Ansar members, and a crew of four. However, police have yet to verify the exact number of Rohingya aboard.

Bangladesh hosts over 1.3 million Rohingya refugees, primarily in the overcrowded Cox’s Bazar coastal district, following a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. To ease the burden, the government relocated roughly 30,000 Rohingya to the isolated Bhasan Char island in the Bay of Bengal, despite opposition from various human rights groups.

The region has been battered by continuous rainfall since Thursday, caused by a depression over the Bay of Bengal. This severe weather has unleashed strong tidal waves that submerged and damaged hundreds of homes and fishing enclosures across the coastal district, including Hatia island.

Due to the dangerous conditions, river transport links in and out of Hatia have been halted.
On Saturday, the national meteorological department announced the arrival of the southwest monsoon over Bangladesh but urged maritime ports in Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra to lower signal levels, signaling ongoing caution at sea.

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